• In an effort to “send a message of inclusion to its widely diverse fan base,” the NBA champion Toronto Raptors said they are the first NBA to offer an athletic hijab for Muslim women. The Nike Pro Hijabs with the team’s logo were inspired by the Hijabi Ballers, a Toronto-based non-profit organization dedicated to "celebrating and increasing the involvement of Muslim females in sports." “Inspired by those brave enough to change the game” the team posted to its social media platforms along with a video of the Hijabi Ballers in action.

• Greenleaf Foods said it has signed a deal with the Los Angeles Rams to become the first plant-based food brand to officially partner with an NFL team. As part of this partnership, Greenleaf’s Lightlife Burger will be available at Rams home games this season, beginning Sep. 15 during the team’s 2019 home opener ( agasint tthe New Orleans Saints). Lightlife plant-based protein products will also be featured in the Rams Game On! Program at Albertson’s, Vons, and Pavilions.

• The NFL and Facebook have signed a multi-year partnership extension that will “deliver more diversified NFL video content to fans worldwide through Facebook Watch,” expanding a relationship that began in 2017

The NFL will continue distributing recaps from all 256 regular season games, as well as playoff games and the Super Bowl; plus video highlights from such postseason tentpole events las the Pro Bowl, NFL Scouting Combine and NFL Draft. The NFL will also utilize Facebook Watch for distribution of an array of unique content including NFL news and analysis, Video versions of NFL-produced podcasts and classic and special NFL 100 content.

In addition, the NFL will create Facebook Groups around content themes and work to share relevant video in those groups.

• American Airlines will not renew its naming rights deal with the venue that is home to the NBA’s Miami Heat, which has been AmericanAirlines Arena since it opened in 1999 via a 20-year deal valued at $42 million, according to Miami Today. The team and Miami-Dade County executives are in “advanced talks”with another national company. American will remain the official airline for the Heat.

• Bowlero Corp,, the leading owner and operator of bowling centers in America, has acquired the Professional Bowlers Assn. which has been in operation since 1958. Bowlero said, “All scheduled tournaments and programming will continue, with plans to build upon key initiatives including the PBA's groundbreaking Fox Sports partnership.” Full story here.

• Marshawn Lynch has been named as the founded for the expansion Oakland Panthers of the Indoor Football League, with the team beginning play in February 2020 in Oakland (formerly Oracle) Arena. The NFL Raiders are moving from Oakland to Las Vegas beginning with the 2020 season. Full story here.

• The Paley Center for Media, NY, will honor the 100th season of the NFL with a new exhibit: "A Century of Football: Celebrating the NFL’s 100th Season," free and open to the public (Sept. 14-Oct. 27), which includes the first public screening of the only known complete broadcast of Super Bowl I (then known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game) in January 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs

• Pete Frates and Pat Quinn, co-founders of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, have launched with The ALS Assn. the 5th anniversary of “Challenge Me” with a “new call to action to reignite the passion and generosity of the millions of people who dumped ice water on their heads in the summer of 2014.”

December 23, 2018: What happens when you put NBA players in a Budweiser commercial? You get a message to “drink water.”

Budweiser has been an official sponsor of MLB since 1980 and a sponsor of the NBA since 1998.

This year, for the first time since these deals were signed, Anheuser-Busch InBev is allowed to use active athletes from these leagues in commercials, versus what had been the norm of featuring only retired players and coaches in alcohol marketing.

The change came after the brewer signed pacts in September with the players unions for both the NBA and MLB.

The extended 40-second spot will break during the NBA’s five-game schedule on Christmas Day (ESPN, ABC), which includes games with the teams from all three of the players.

The focus of the spot, which sees the players dressed in elf versions of their respective NBA team, is to drink water between rounds of alcohol.

Alcohol acts as a diuretic, which causes dehydration because it amplifies the need to urinate. Drinking water keeps the body hydrated and also helps to soften some effects of drinking, such as hangovers and dizziness, according to some scientific studies.

Players are not shown holding or drinking beer or harder alcoholic beverages.

Support includes digital and social media, where Budweiser offered on its Twitter page, "HAPPY H₂OLIDAYS! @KyleKuzma, @RealStevenAdams, and @t_hardJR are watching to make sure you hydrate between Buds. #DrinkWiser #ThisBudsForYou."

The NFL sill prohibits showing active players in alcohol marketing.

In the spot, a man and his son are watching TV and enjoying Buds when Kuzma appears, sitting on a shelf in their living room.

When the son follows Dad's example and takes a drink of water, Kuzma shouts, “Drained it . . . Drip, drip.”

Hardaway Jr. is sitting on a shelf at a concession stand (which appears to be in Madison Square Garden) when a man and woman order beers and “a couple of waters.” “Water!” shouts Hardaway Jr. as he starts to shimmy on the shelf. “Splash! Taking a bath.”

In OKC, a woman in a sports bar orders a Bud and a water. “And one!” yells Adams, sitting on a shelf behind the bar. “Hydration.”

The extended spot will run in shorter versions focusing on each player in their respective market.

Kevin Durant was the focus of a Budweiser ad this past May as a homage to his Mom, which also showed clips of various NBA players in action, including LeBron James, but did not include product shots or scenes of people holding beers.

Budweiser has also been part of individual team activations, including as a sponsor of the Atlanta Hawks 50th anniversary celebration this season and as title sponsor for the Orlando Magic’s Budweiser Legends that revisited the team’s history with former players and executives.

Budweiser also has activation during such league jewel events as the All-Star Game.

Budweiser is expected to roll out marketing with active MLB players this coming season.